Developer Lessons Learned from Top App Fails

2 min read
Aug 23, 2017

Great apps need to grip your users from the start.

With over 1.5 million apps on the market, there’s bound to be some bad ones. In fact, some apps are downright terrible. So what distinguishes a stellar app from a total flop? There are a variety of factors that contribute to the success of apps, and by studying the pitfalls of some of the biggest app fails, you can enjoy a good laugh whilst improving the quality of your app development.

Snookify Me

“Snookify Me” is an app that allows users to turn any picture into a Snooki lookalike. Based on the hit reality show, “The Jersey Shore,” it can add glitz, glam, and spray tans to any image. Though the app gained a little popularity at first, it quickly faded into oblivion. 

With over 1.5 million apps on the market, there's bound to be some bad ones.Click To Tweet

So what were the main pitfalls of this app? Firstly, it was too simple. With countless competing apps that provide greater functionality and customization over images, an app that offered only one specific function quickly grew tiring. It’s also based on a trending theme that won’t remain relevant over time, thus limiting the potential of the app over the years.

Swing Copters

“Swing Copters” was created by the same developer as “Flappy Birds.” Given “Flappy Birds” was such a major success, the developer thought he may try his luck again. Unfortunately, the app failed to gain traction, as it seems the developer was banking more on his popularity than his development skills. The developer should have spent more time studying his audience to design an app around their interests, rather than slapping together any random arcade-like game and hoping the users approve.

Floating Miley Cyrus

It’s unclear whether this app was intended for sheer humour, or whether the developer genuinely thought there was a market for it. In any case, it unsurprisingly never found its place in the marketplace. The app consists of a picture of Miley Cyrus dancing, but provides the user with absolutely no control over the image, making it an incredibly boring and pointless app that even the diehard Miley fans weren’t fond of. After all, without any controls for the user, it’s unlikely to provide more than a few seconds of amusement.

Apps need to keep users engaged if they hope to survive in the marketplace.

Will You Marry Me?

One of the main draws of apps is the efficiency and convenience they provide to a person’s life. They take everyday tasks and automate them, allowing you to conquer more work in less time. However, there are still some tasks that you need to be willing to do on your own, and if you’re hoping to win your partner’s heart, a proposal needs to be conducted in person. It’s apparent that the app developer behind “Will You Marry Me?” is a bit new to the dating world. The app will accomplish the task of proposals for you, or rather, accomplish the task of your inevitable breakup. The lesson here, app developers, is that your app needs to be solving a practical problem and making life better, rather than automating tasks for the sheer sake of automating tasks.

It’s hard to be creative with app development considering the vast volume of apps smothering the marketplace. However, if ever you’re feeling discouraged, just remember, no matter what app you create, there are likely to be dozens of worse ones already on the market. To ensure the success of your app, it helps to examine some of the biggest flops in app history, so you can learn exactly what to avoid. It also helps to have an expert app development platform like Glance at your service. Contact us, and start developing your app today.

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